Meet some of the outstanding authors who call the Sunshine State home.

Friday, February 5, 2016

Tom Winton - Writing from the Heart

Tom Winton is a man who writes from his heart. This Jensen Beach author who now spends part
of his time in the Georgia Mountains has penned seven novels he describes as
“emotion-packed with a literary edge.” His books all debuted on Amazon’s “Hot
New Release” list, putting him in the ranks of Amazon’s 100 Most Popular
Authors in both literary fiction and mystery/thriller/suspense. He has been
described as “a man who writes with his pen dipped in his soul.”

Winton’s success as a writer would certainly come as a
surprise to his teachers at Flushing High School in his native New York. “My
high school grades weren’t good,” he admits. “In fact, I barely made it through.” He joined the Air Force after graduation,
then drove down to Florida in a snowstorm to marry the woman he’d been dating
"for a record 89 days.” Although he held a number of different jobs, he
never considered writing. “Until I was 35, I was like a lot of other guys my
age,” he says. “For the most part I only read the sports pages, fishing
magazines and Playboy. But then I
discovered novels and always had five or six alongside my easy chair. Whenever
I had free time and wasn’t out fishing I read voraciously. Although I put the
better authors on a pedestal, about the time I turned 49 I began to think, ‘I
can do better than most of these writers.’ That’s what I believed, anyway. It
took me two full years of looking at the same blank page of a Spiral notebook
before I started scrawling words.” He completed two manuscripts, but when he couldn’t
find a publisher, he became discouraged and stopped writing.

Even though Winton didn’t write for 11 years, he never lost
the desire. “When I threw those manuscripts into a closet for all that time, I
left of piece of my soul alongside them,” he recalls. Then one day, he heard about an online writer’s
site and decided to upload one of the manuscripts he’d abandoned for so long. Entitled
Beyond Nostalgia, it is the story of
a young love that is lost and rediscovered 25 years later. And then things
started to happen—and quickly. Only five weeks after Tom submitted Beyond Nostalgia, it was nominated for
the Random House site’s Book of the Year. A year later, when he was 62 year
years old, Winton was approached by a publisher and signed his first contract.

Over the next five years Winton wrote six more novels, and they
all soon became bestsellers. Although most of his books have scenes that take
place in Florida, two of them, Four Days
with Hemingway’s Ghost and A Second
Chance in Paradise, are set for the most part in the Sunshine State. His
other titles are Forever Three, The Last American Martyr, Within a Man’s Heart, and his newest, A New Dawn in Deer Isle. The latter, a
heartrending story about a widower who drives across America, following much of
the route famed author John Steinbeck did in his Travels with Charley, became an Amazon bestseller and “Hot New
Release” just two days after its release.

Although Winton admits that coming up with ideas for a new
books is not always easy, he’s already working on yet another Florida Keys
based novel. As he tries to do with all his books, Winton hopes that his
readers will again enjoy experiencing the range of feelings he puts into his
stories. “Rather than just reading
words, I want them to feel the
emotions,” he says. “When you can make readers feel what happens to your
characters you know you’re at the top of your game.”

JACQUELINE

Based on a true story, "Jacqueline" is a tale of family, faith, unusual friendships, and the resiliency of the human spirit set against the backdrop of occupied Rennes in 1944. With the drama of fiction and the authenticity of personal history, "Jacqueline" is both a story about family and a family's story.

PROJECT JUNE BUG

Take an intimate peek behind the faculty room door and an unforgettable journey into the world of ADHD

About Me

I'm currently a columnist for The Island Reporter, a publication serving the South Gulf Beaches in St. Petersburg, Florida. My Florida Authors series features articles based on exclusive interviews with some of the state’s best writers. My “Pride & Joy” column
profiles individuals who give back to their communities through volunteerism.
I'm also the author of two novels."Project June Bug" is the story of a young teacher’s efforts to help a student with ADHD. It has received 12 awards, including Premier Book Awards “2009 Book of the Year.” My latest novel, "Jacqueline,"(published by Anaiah Press) is a middle grade historical based on an experience my dad, a WWII veteran, had while stationed in France shortly after D-day. Four of my stories have appeared in "Chicken Soup for the Soul" editions.
I live on Treasure Island (yes, it's as beautiful as it sounds), with my husband and two rather noisy macaws. In my spare time, I enjoy reading, walking on the beach, and visiting family in New Jersey, where I'm the proud "Grammy" of six beautiful grandchildren (with the pictures to prove it!)